Earlier this week I received an email from a reader who was concerned that Facebook was requiring her to log into an account in order to view the content of the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page. While the pop-up that Facebook puts over a page until you sign-in is annoying, there is a way to view and search a Facebook page without logging into an account. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to browse a Facebook page without logging into an account. As I noted in the video above, the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page only offers some of what is found on the blog. On the blog you can find all of the shared resources including these alternatives to YouTube, more than 100 Google tools tutorials, and guides to video creation tools. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesHow to Password Protect Blog PostsGlobal Forest Change Explorer - Trends in DeforestationThe Month in Review - The Most Popular Posts 

Next Vista for Learning recently wrapped-up a student video contest. One of the winning videos was Demonstrating Onomatopoeia. The video does a fantastic job of explaining what onomatopoeia is while also demonstrating how its proper use can enhance your writing. The video is embedded below. The video can be downloaded on Next Vista for Learning. If this video sparked your interest in having your students make videos, take a look at Next Vista's next student video contest called Creative Spark. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesGet Inspiration for Video Projects and Help a Non-profit at the Same TimeCreative Storm - A Next Vista Video ContestThe Month in Review - The Most Popular Posts 

One of the things that teachers often ask me for is a set of tools to get them started on using technology in their classrooms. This is a common request because it can be overwhelming to look at a website or a read a stream of emails with tips and try to figure out where to start. For that reason, I have started to put together short PDFs that contain a few options for a three or four common activities in a subject area. These are not meant to be comprehensive guides, they're meant to be starter kits. The first starter kit is for social studies teachers. In the handout embedded below you will find my recommendations for tools to create timelines, tools to create videos, tools to create digital maps, and tools to help students conduct better web research. You can download the document from Box or grab the Google Docs copy. Learn more about how to use these tools in my online course Teaching History With Technology.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesA Great Video Explanation of OnomatopoeiaHow to Browse a Facebook Page Without Logging Into an AccountFree Annotated Science Research Papers Accompanied by Teaching Resources 

Classroom Heroes is a new service that seems similar in concept to ClassDojo. Classroom Heroes lets you make a record of your students' behaviors in your classroom. The service also gives you a place to record homework assignments. You can share those records with your students and their parents through SMS and email. Like ClassDojo, Classroom Heroes offers avatars that can be used to represent your students in your classroom. Classroom Heroes isn't open to the public yet, but it is accepting registrations for early users. If you're interested in being an early adopter, you can register on the site. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related Stories15 Tools for Teaching History With Technology - A HandoutA Great Video Explanation of OnomatopoeiaHow to Browse a Facebook Page Without Logging Into an Account 

Earlier this week a participant in one of my online courses asked a good question about using Google Forms as an assessment tool. Here's the paraphrased question: I have created a great rubric for some year end projects. Rather than going straight to the spreadsheet, I complete the form as students present. However, i cannot for the life of me figure out the easiest way for me to take the responses and return them to students. It seems that when I open Flubaroo- things get super confusing. This is one of the times when a Google Form might not be necessary. In fact, my suggestion was to skip the Form and just enter grades and comments into a Google Spreadsheet that has the Online Rubric Add-on enabled. Online Rubric helps you create a rubric within a Google Spreadsheet. The template will let you include email addresses so that you can quickly send to your students their grades and your comments. The video embedded below demonstrates how to use the Online Rubric Add-on for Google Sheets. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesThe Month in Review - The Most Popular PostsHow to Distribute Add-ons to an Entire Google Apps DomainFlubaroo Offers a New Extra Credit Grading Option 

Yesterday morning I woke up to an email from a reader who told me that it was "ridonkulous" that I don't write about OneNote. (Side note, I need to get back in the habit of not checking email first thing in the morning so that I'm not starting my day with a nasty tone). The reason that I don't write about OneNote is that I don't use it with any degree of regularity. It's a fine product and many people like it, but I've been a Google Apps guy for a long time and people kind of know me for that so I tend to write about Google Apps more than I do other cloud-based productivity services. All that said, I am happy to refer people to my friend Jeff Bradbury's website where he has many OneNote tutorials because he is regular user of that service. One of Jeff's videos about OneNote templates is embedded below. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesWhen a Spreadsheet is Better Than a FormHow to Browse a Facebook Page Without Logging Into an AccountHow to Password Protect Blog Posts 

The Library of Congress has quite a number of great resources for teachers and students. The Student Discovery Sets are favorite amongst my favorite resources that I've featured in the past. That collection of resources was recently updated by the LOC. The recent additions to the Student Discovery Sets include iBooks about the New Deal, scientific discovery, and weather forecasting through years. Another great resource from the Library of Congress that history teachers should bookmark is The Teaching With Primary Sources Journal. The free online journal features activities for using primary source documents in primary and secondary classrooms. In addition to the teaching activities in the journal each issue includes a feature article about that issue's theme. The theme of the current issue is "historical and geographic thinking." After the feature article teachers will find links to related articles and related resources from the LOC and from around the Internet. The Teaching With Primary Sources Journal is published on a quarterly basis. The archives of the journal are available to browse and read online. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesLOC Student Discovery Sets Put Primary Sources on Students' iPadsThe Origin and Meaning of Memorial Day10 Educational Resources About the American Revolution 

Open source software powers many of things that we see and do on the Internet and on our computers every day. In fact, if you're reading this on an Android device right now, you can thank the people who have contributed to the open source code making that happen. What is open source software? How is it supported? Why would someone open source a project? Those questions and more are answered in the latest video from Common Craft that I have embedded below. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesA Great Video Explanation of OnomatopoeiaA Good Place to Find OneNote TutorialsWhen a Spreadsheet is Better Than a Form 

This morning I gave the opening keynote for the Collaborate2Create conference in Glendale, Arizona. The title of my talk was Preparing Students to Work Independently. The slides from that talk are embedded below. If you would like to have me speak at your school or conference, please send me an email at richardbyrne (at) freetech4teachers.com or check out my work with me page. This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesA Great Video Explanation of OnomatopoeiaHow to Browse a Facebook Page Without Logging Into an AccountHow to Customize Background Scenes in Storyboard That Frames 

Good evening from Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Today, I had the privilege to speak at the Collaborat2Create conference hosted by the Arizona Technology in Education Association and Glendale Elementary Schools. It was great to see so many teachers come out on a Saturday to connect and learn with each other. Next week I'll be speaking in Amarillo and Abilene, Texas as well as Topeka, KS and Flagstaff, AZ. If you're going to be at any of those events, please say hello. Visit my work with me page to learn how to bring me to your school or conference. Here are this week's most popular posts: 1. A Fun Tool for Making Word Clouds in Fun Shapes 2. 15 Tools for Teaching History With Technology - A Handout 3. A Great Video Explanation of Onomatopoeia 4. 5 Ways to Create Mapped Stories 5. What Connects These Things? - A Search Lesson 6. Global Forest Change Explorer - Trends in Deforestation 7. 10 Sites and Apps for Vocabulary and Spelling Practice Summer PD Opportunities With MeTake a look at the online workshops I'm hosting throughout the spring and summer. The Practical Ed Tech Chromebook and BYOD Camps are sold out! Email me to get on the waiting list. Bring Me To Your School or ConferenceClick here to learn about my professional development services.  Please visit the official advertisers that help keep this blog going.Practical Ed Tech is the brand through which I offer PD webinars.BoomWriter provides a fantastic tool for creating writing lessons. Storyboard That is my go-to tool for creating storyboards and cartoon stories.Discovery Education & Wilkes University offer online courses for earning Master's degrees in Instructional Media.PrepFactory offers a great place for students to prepare for SAT and ACT tests.FrontRow offers adaptive online ELA and Math practice activities.  Teach n Go is a comprehensive platform for teaching online courses.The University of Maryland Baltimore County offers graduate programs for teachers.Boise State University offers a 100% online program in educational technology.EdTechTeacher is hosting host workshops in six cities in the U.S. in the summer.Buncee offers a great tool for creating visual stories.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers if you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission.              Related StoriesThe Week in Review - The Lilacs Have ArrivedHow to Browse a Facebook Page Without Logging Into an AccountThe Month in Review - The Most Popular Posts